


A Useless Talent To The World.

by Clueless909



Category: Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School
Genre: #past #poor Ruruka and Seiko #lots of sadness, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 07:31:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7882294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clueless909/pseuds/Clueless909
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Upon being invited to enroll in Hope's Peak Academy, Ruruka, Seiko, and Izayoi must participate in their first talent exam in order to be accepted. Looking forward to showing off her talent, Ruruka is thrown for a loop when she is unintentionally upstaged by Seiko.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Useless Talent To The World.

“Seiko?” Ruruka said with a cheery tone, her eyes sparkling with pure joy and her aura transforming the very air around her into a bubble of excitement. Seiko, who was packing up her school supplies, glanced up from her seat at Ruruka in a calm, slightly confused manner. She tilted her head a little, prompting Ruruka to explain why she was practically bouncing in place.

“The exams! Aren’t you excited for the exams?!” Ah… Right. Seiko nodded in acknowledgment. Of course Ruruka would be anxiously awaiting the exams. She loved showing off her talent anytime she could. And being eligible for Hope’s Peak Academy- AKA guaranteed success- was right up her alley.  
Meanwhile, Seiko didn’t say anything, trying not to bring Ruruka’s mood down with her negativity. She was terrified. Seiko knew there were others who could do exactly what she does and if Ruruka gets into Hope’s Peak Academy without her, then their friendship will inevitably die! Seiko shuddered at the thought and with a small exhale to try and calm her nerves, got up from her desk as Ruruka continued to blabber away about her plans for the exam. They promptly exited the classroom, only to be greeted by Izayoi.

Well, greeted was the wrong word. More like, he just kind of joined them as they walked and Ruruka switched to talk to him, relaying her same eager speech onto him. If only Seiko could be as confident as Ruruka… But that didn’t matter, it didn’t matter at all. At least, that’s what Seiko tried to tell herself. She’d been working on something interesting herself and hoped that the Hope’s Peak judges would appreciate just how _hard_ it was to make. It had taken so many tries to finally get the side effects to be… Not absolutely dangerous.

“Seiko? You’ve been lost in thought all the way here!” Ruruka giggled and Seiko blinked a few times, realizing she’d fallen a bit behind the other two in the time she’d been lost in thought. They were now at the crossroad where Ruruka and Izayoi went one way and she went another. 

“S-sorry…” Seiko stuttered and peered at the ground. Ruruka opened her mouth to ask what was wrong but Seiko just started walking away. Confused, Ruruka just called out to her.

“Seiko?! See you tomorrow!” She smiled and waved and Seiko shyly waved back before continuing to bound down the street.  
Ruruka turned back to Izayoi who was patiently waiting for her. “Izayoi, what should I make…? I’m thinking that I should stick to what I do best! Macaroons~!” They began walking down the sidewalk to their homes which were quite near each other.

“Sounds good to me. They’re my favorite after all.” Izayoi spoke with his usual monotone voice but it was the familiar and comforting voice that she’d known since childhood. Ruruka walked with a skip in her step and she gasped and held onto Izayoi’s jacket sleeve.

“Hey! What’re you planning to show?” That’s right. Izayoi was also eligible for going into Hope’s Peak Academy. Most would think it was a bizarre coincidence that all of the three childhood friends just happened to be qualified for the Hope’s Peak Academy exam but it really wasn’t a coincidence. All three of them had been in Hope’s Peak Elementary. Exclusively for different reasons though… But that’s something that Ruruka shook out of her head. She wasn’t home yet so she didn’t need to think about it.

“Just one of my knives.” Izayoi said, but it seemed… Off. Ruruka pondered it for a moment as they walked in silence before the reason clicked in her brain and she paused her movements.

“Yoi… Are you worried?” She stared up at his face as it contorted for just a second of surprise before looking away from her. “Hey… D-don’t worry about it… Your knives are, um, really really cool! And well made!” Ruruka smiled at him after her rather lackluster comforting words (she’s not the greatest speaker) and lowered her hand which had been gripping his sleeve the entire time and rested it within his hand.

Izayoi chuckled a bit and softly met her smile with his. “Thank you.” They began walking again and once they reached the bakery that Ruruka’s parents owned, they stood in front of the doors in silence. Ruruka didn’t want to go in and Izayoi knew it. “Ruruka…?” He murmured, lowly and she changed her line of sight to only have Izayoi in it.

“What is it, Yoi?” She asked, not really sure why he wasn’t saying goodbye or telling her she could come over if she started getting unhappy.

“You shouldn’t worry about it either.” Izayoi’s words were so sincere that Ruruka’s eyes watered a little. He knew her so well. “Your sweets are the best in the world. They’re dewicious.” Relieved at his assurance, Ruruka hugs him quickly and then, her excitement reinstated in her mind, runs into the bakery.

“Let’s give it our best shot! We’re gonna win!”

Izayoi nods in her direction but she’s already out of sight in the building and so he walks over to his house. The nervousness of the next day was present in each of the three middle school students, who all worked that night to make sure their presentations would be absolutely perfect. 

 

The next day rolled around and the pressure of the situation was dawning on the three of them. It definitely didn’t help Ruruka that she would be going second. Stupid “A” last name… She sat in her chair next to Izayoi and Seiko, silently wishing that this goes well. They watched in anticipation, as the kid going before Ruruka (Adachi), presented his talent and was met by rather pleased judges. Though whether that please could be out measured by someone with the same but better skilled talent was indeterminate. And there were a lot of students wanting to get into the school. But time seemed to go neck-breaking speed as the boy performed and it couldn’t have been more than 5 seconds (though it definitely was) that Ruruka’s name was being called. She stood up slowly and carefully, her knees shaking as she stood up. She gulped and took a deep breath and then… Transformed. Pridefully, she hid her embarrassment and nervous shaking by striding up to the table with a false confident grin and carefully put her macaroons on the table. Ruruka, bad with words if she hasn’t rehearsed the living daylights out of them, simply says,

“They need no further introduction than the ones they make with your tastebuds! Enjoy!” The judges believe in the confident attitude and begin to taste her sweets. There was a moment where there was only silence and brief mumbles of chewing. But then, they all started gasping.

“This is delicious!”

“I love this so much, what in the world?!”

“I want 50…!”

They loved them! Ruruka was overjoyed. But again, it was over just as soon as it started, it seemed. Her moment of glory was short-lived and the next participant was called up. And Ruruka was okay with that. She felt accomplished, proud, and incredibly happy. She walked back to Seiko and Izayoi with the same look of pure joy and excitement as the day before and they listened to her happily whisper about how incredibly glad she was. 

But then, in what felt like no time at all, Ruruka’s happiness was utterly crushed.

“Kimura Seiko.” The judges called out and Seiko shyly got to her feet and walked over to the judges. Ruruka watched with a smile, wanting her friend to get into the same school as her. Ruruka watched with a smile, as Seiko unveiled and presented her medicine. Ruruka watched with a smile, as the judges began to praise Seiko. Telling her her medicines could help so many people. Could save so many lives.

Ruruka watched with a frown, as Seiko was guaranteed a spot in Hope’s Peak on the spot.

Why…? Why was it her who got instant Hope’s Peak admission…? Ruruka worked so hard… She wanted this, no, she _needed_ this… Seiko was perfect in her abilities, she could do anything, help everyone… While Ruruka could just make these useless, pointless, garbage sweets… 

She shook in place, her vision becoming blurry, her mind blinded with indescribable rage. Ruruka looked at the ground and tightly gripped the ends of her skirt in her fists as the first tear escaped her eyes and landed on her tightly clasping knuckles, nearly stark white from her intense grasp. It took all of her restraint to not burst out sobbing, as Seiko continued to be applauded by the judges and Izayoi put a hand on her shoulder with a pitying expression.

“Ruruka, do we need to leave for a moment?” He whispers to her and she quickly nods but doesn’t feel like she can get up and walk. Her legs felt like jelly, her movements slowed and one wrong action would break her. Send her into a flurry of sobs and screams and honestly she couldn’t do that in front of those judges if she wanted any chance to be seen as a professional in her field. Luckily, Izayoi knew her incredibly well and picked her up bridal style and he quickly left the competition room, trying to not gain any attention. He carried her to the closest vacant room and gently set her down on one of the desks. Facing directly across from her, Izayoi stared at her hopelessly sad and quivering face. 

“I-I,” Ruruka starts but her words are trembling and muffled by her sharp intakes of breath, “I can’t, I can’t b-beat her, Yoi, I can’t, she-she, there’s no way…” Her sentences are broken, reflecting Ruruka’s state of being perfectly. Heartbroken by her weak display in contrast to her usual upbeat self, Izayoi suddenly hugs her silently. And the last shred of pride that kept her from a breakdown was torn. Ruruka began weeping, crying out incoherent ramblings about how useless and awful she was, how her talent was worthless, how she was nothing compared to the perfect Seiko. It stayed like that for a while. Izayoi hugged her and listened to her hysterical rant. He let go of her after the sobbing had came to a definitive end, as Ruruka had no more tears to shed.

“Ruruka,” Izayoi stated calmly, looking into her eyes, that warm familiarity easing her yet again, “I couldn’t live without you or your sweets. I love you and your sweets. Those two things… Mean everything to me.” And with that, Ruruka felt so much more secure, so much more validated… It was far from over, obviously. Her sadness from insecurity manifested itself in a bitter, jealous mess of emotions that gripped her heart firmly. But in that moment, she could feel like she really was all that important, like her talent actually meant something...

Except they had to go back. Izayoi’s exam would start soon and he needed to be in the same school as her. He had to be. Ruruka couldn’t survive, couldn’t function without him.

“Are you going to be alright?” Izayoi queried, after she had hopped off the desk and walked towards the door.

Ruruka looked back at him and nodded, “Yeah. I’ll be fine.” She didn’t sound convincing at all but Izayoi went with her out of the room.

Only to immediately bump into Seiko.

“There you guys are…!” She whispered in her shy, confused voice. “Where were you? I saw you leave but-”

“We were just talking.” Ruruka curtly said, cutting Seiko off. Seiko shrank at Ruruka’s hoarse voice and cut-throat tone.

“S-sorry, um,” She smiled softly, “c-can you believe it…? I really got in… And you heard what they said, right? I-”

Ruruka wanted to be happy for Seiko. Deep in her heart, she did. But she could feel nothing but contempt for Seiko’s accomplishments. “Uh huh, I heard.” Her words didn’t feel like her own. She was impatient, so so impatient, she didn’t want to have this conversation. She _couldn’t_ have this conversation. It had to end right now. Ruruka’s stomach felt sick and her body was trembling in absolute furious anger. 

Don’t say anything more. Don’t, please. Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please.

“Are you alri-?” Seiko worriedly asked, with her innocent face. Her perfect innocent face. Was Seiko even human? How could she be…? Ruruka’s pupils shrank as she menacingly glared at Seiko.

“Just leave me alone!” Ruruka blurted out and just started running back into the exam room. Shocked, Seiko froze in place, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Izayoi just followed Ruruka, not sure what else he really could do. He and Seiko weren’t particularly close at all and Ruruka was definitely more important to him than Seiko.

And so she stood there, uncontrollably confused and hurt. How could her best friend say that to her? Wasn’t Ruruka happy for her? Did she do something wrong?! Seiko, unable to realize Ruruka’s insecurities was at a loss of what had just happened. 

Meanwhile, Ruruka hugged her knees to her chest as she sat on her chair. She knew that her talent would never mean anything to the world. She’s be forgotten and Seiko would be remembered forever as the incredible person she was…

_I really… Can’t beat her…_

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short story about the conflict between Seiko and Ruruka told from a more Ruruka-sympathetic point of view.  
> Hope you enjoyed ^^


End file.
